Throughout his career, former USC Trojans quarterback Matt Barkley played in plenty of massive stadiums and sellout crowds. But one stadium environment stands out from the rest: Ohio Stadium, the home of the Ohio State Buckeyes.
During an appearance on The Victory Podcast with Keely Eure, Matt Barkley remembered USC’s trip to Columbus during the 2009 season, calling Ohio State’s home stadium “one of the loudest environments I’ve ever been in.”
Barkley explained that it was so loud during the game that he compared it to attending a concert but “the speaker is in the front and your ears are just ringing.”
Even when he was in the huddle right next to his teammates, he said it was almost impossible to hear each other.
“If this were the huddle right here, you’d have to nearly read my lips to hear the play call,” Barkley said on the podcast according to the Columbus Dispatch. “And this was even during timeouts dude. During timeout calls, they were still standing the whole time, yelling as loud as they could. It was nuts.”
Despite the crowd, Barkley was able to lead his Trojans to victory with a game-winning 86-yard touchdown drive, silencing the entire stadium.
“Finally, that place went silent,” Barkley said. “It was glorious. It was beautiful.”
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